Alternate Yesterday
by MissyIrene
Summary: Wow, haven't updated in a long time. Here is Chapter 8, with some Swartz action and some Ken and Mamoru fun as well, so R&R.
1. Mameru's Life

Hi everyone this is my first attempt at a Weiss Kreuz based fan fic. It is a What if? Of what Omi's life might have been like if his mother Kikuno did not die, and decided to leave with her son Mamoru before he was kidnapped. So its not really an AU, but kind of. Confused yet? ^_~ Well on with the fun and if you could please review, it would help a lot and give me much needed confidence.   
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Weiss Kreuz, it is a sad truth but true non the less. I have just barrowed the characters for a little fun so enjoy. ^_^  
  
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Chapter 1:   
  
Mamoru's Life  
  
Mamoru sighed, it had been a long day and it still was not over yet. He gingerly placed his school bag on the chair by the door in his apartment and absentmindedly checked the messages on the answering machine while he took off his shoes and put his coat away. The familiar voice of his mother came to him over the recorder:  
  
  
  
"Mamoru honey, I have to work a double shift at the restaurant again tonight, I am sorry I know you wanted to spend some time with me but you know we need the money" "Don't wait up since you know you have school tomorrow and don't stay up half the night on the Internet again, sleeping at your desk, face jammed into the key board is hardly acceptable as a good nights rest." " I left you dinner in the refrigerator and no more ramen, your a growing boy eat something healthy for once. Love you and see you tomorrow. *beep* (message ends)  
  
  
  
Mamoru quickly skimmed though the remaining messages finding nothing else for him he continued on into the kitchen to get something to drink and a quick bite before he headed out. A coke and a cookie in hand he went to his room to change out of his school uniform and grab his gear, he had to hurry or he would be late. Sometimes he hated it that his mom had to work so much and that they hardly ever got to spend some quality time together but it was how they survived and at least they had stayed in this town long enough for him to make some real friends for a change.   
  
  
  
As he wrote a quick note to his mother on the odd chance that she got home before him he headed out into the summer sun musing about their situation. It was nothing new to him, it has always been this way for as long as he could remember. He and his mom were always on the move, spending only a few years at a time, if they were lucky in one place before they had to pack up and move on. Stopping at the end of the street to wait for the light to turn red so he could cross Mamoru continued to recall why his life was the way it was.   
  
  
  
As far back as he could remember his mother has been running from who she termed the "bad people" or at least that is what she called them when he was little, and too young to understand why every time he made a friend or started at a school he would have to leave and start all over again. Now that he was 15 he understood the real reason he and his mother were always moving, and it could be summed up in one single word, "father". According to Mamoru's mother his father was a "bad man" who would hurt them if he ever found them and that is why when he was little over 3 years old his mother who had mistakenly discovered her husband's "skeletons" had in fear of her own life and her illegitimate son's life done, the only thing she could, she had run.   
  
  
  
  
  
Unknown to Mamoru his mother had feared for more then her own life when she had left her husband and his other two sons. She had discovered that he knew her darkest and dearest secret. That she had, and still loved his brother and that her tiny son was the result of that taboo love affair. After she left with her son they spent the next 12 years on the run, her husband and his associates that he had hired to find his wayward wife always a step right behind. She had to work to support herself and her tiny son as he grew. Leaving him with caregivers or in daycare while she worked until he was old enough to go to school and take care of himself until she could come home. This had become the pattern of their lives, always on guard and never trusting strangers at first glance.   
  
  
  
There had been close calls before, like the time when Mamoru was only 5 and was in kindergarten. While going to drop off her son at school only weeks after he had been enrolled she had stopped dead in her tracks only a few hundred meters from the school, when she had recognized a familiar long hair redhead who worked as a body guard for her husband, his deep nasal German accent easy to detect even from a distance. He had not been alone, a tall dark hair American man who she also recognized had been with him, waiting by a black limousine outside of the kindergarten building for her to arrive. She had always suspected that those men were more then they seemed. They always seemed to know where people such as she were, and when they would be there. If she didn't know better she would have thought they were physic or something.   
  
Mamoru and his mother had bearly escaped that day, as his mother clutched him to her chest and turned on her heals fleeing from the school and from that city never to return.   
  
  
  
Mamoru and his mother had not come into contact with anyone who had any connection to his father in almost 2 years which according to his mother was the longest amount of time between close calls they had ever had. It gave them some sense of security to know this, and hope that may-be the running would now be over.   
  
  
  
Mamoru's reflective train of thoughts were shattered by a sudden call of his name and a pair of hands practically glomping him from behind. "Mamoru...., Oi, you awake?" Mamoru didn't bother to detach himself from his friend June who had attached herself to his arm like some kind of leech.   
  
"Hey, June" he said as he turned to her with his trademark smile that usually left girls as puddles of mush on the ground, June however was immune since she had grown a resistance to Mamoru's charms since she had met him 2 years ago.   
  
  
  
She detached herself from his arm and instead took up walking beside him with her arms folded behind her head as she chatted on and on about this and that. Mamoru smiled, she was a true friend the longest friendship he had ever had. They had actually met 4 years ago, online, becoming fast friends, and had ended up quite by accident at the same school when he and his mother had moved to Kyoto 2 years back.   
  
  
  
"So Mamu-chan are we going to do this thing or not?" June said with a knowing smirk, she knew Mamoru hated being called that, and she was the only girl at school who could get away with it."  
  
  
  
Rolling his eyes at the accursed nick-name that June had insisted she call him since the day they had met, he patted the computer bag at his side as they walked. "Yup, all set and I still can't believe you talked me into this June." "Oh don't be such a spoil sport Mamu-chan you are the best hacker I know and that is saying something since before I met you I was the best hacker I knew", she said while batting her eyes at him in a sarcastic attempt at flirtation. Mamoru was used to her flirtations and knew they were all in fun since their relationship was like siblings and nothing more.  
  
  
  
Stopping in front of a prominent Kyoto, office building, Mamoru looked to his friend June who had a devious smirk growing on her lips and rolled his eyes, there was no point in reasoning with her when she was set in her ways and wanted something. June had sent him an e-mail last night and had begged him to hack into a her father's company's computers and help her find some file that she was convinced would prove that someone who her father was associated with was stealing money from her father and black mailing him. She had come across a e-mail message left for her father on his "secret" account by said person, and had tried to hack into the files herself but was unsuccessful due to new upgrades in security at her father's pharmisutical company. She now needed Mamoru's expertise to help her to help her father, who despite his lack of presence in her life due to his busy schedule was still her father, and she didn't like the idea of some dirty crook stealing from him.   
  
  
  
"Ok ready, I want to get these files and get out of here before we get caught" Mamoru said to his friend as they entered her fathers office building and prayed that no one recognized her. The two scheming youths ran into an empty office and locked the door behind them, their minds only focused on the task at hand and not getting caught.   
  
As Mamoru focused on the complex security programs he had no way of knowing that at the same time as he and June worked to help her father that his own had just walked into the building heading up to the top floor to meet with a long time business associate and was flanked on either side by his long time body guards, one a serious American and the other a wise cracking and devious German red head. 


	2. Kikuno's Fears

Yay a review!!!! ^_^ I am such an easy person to please. Anyway thanks is due to Kasra for the review, it was wonderful. To answer your question about why Omi's mom didn't go to Suichii for help, it is because I figured that she would know how influential Reiji is, and of course she wouldn't know how powerful Suichii actually is. So I would guess she would fear for his life as well. I mean if a guy like Reiji would kill his wife and son why not his brother too. And we both know from the anime that this is true.   
  
(NOTES): For this chapter I want to visit with Kikuno and what she thinks about her and Mameru's situation.   
  
Disclaimer: Again, I do not own Weiss Kreuz, but one can always dream, right?!?!?!? Well anyway I just borrowed the characters for a time so on with the fun, ENJOY. ^_^  
  
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Chapter 2:  
  
Kikuno's Fears  
  
The clinking of plates and the chatter of the kitchen help accompanied Kikuno as she packed up her waitress uniform and readied herself for her walk to the subway, and her long ride home. She waved good-bye to her co-workers and absentmindedly ran a list of groceries she would need to pick up her herself and Mamoru in the morning, before her next scheduled shift at the restaurant.   
  
  
  
As she settled herself into a seat on the subway Kikuno thought back to what had brought her to this point in her life.   
  
(Flashback)  
  
In the dead of night she crept into her baby's bedroom and quickly bundled little Mamoru up in warm clothes, even though it was spring time, there was still a chill in the air. Somewhere in the back of her mind it amazed Kikuno that she could think of such things while planning to run away from her own husband with her tiny 3 year old son. All she knew is that she had to go. To stay might mean her own demise and that of her son as well. She had never wanted to marry Reiji to begin with, her heart had always been with his brother Suichii, but her own desires came second to Reiji's influence and power. Even as his wife her love for Suichii could not be snuffed out and she had secretly continued to meet with him and their relationship continued to blossom, despite the small technicality of her being married to her lover's brother. Unfortunately their secret love affair came to an end the day she realized that she was pregnant, and her husband had been out of the country on business for the past month.   
  
  
  
Kikuno had done her best to keep the pregnancy a secret from everyone especially Suichii and her husband's other sons. Once Reiji was home and they had spent a night together she had decided it was safe enough to advertise her pregnancy.   
  
(End of Flashback)  
  
  
  
Thinking back Kikuno couldn't believe how nieve she had been to think that Reiji would believe Mamoru was his own son, even when he was born a month earlier than he should have been. He looked nothing like his supposed father, and unlike his father's other sons who were cruel and disturbing even at a young age, Mamoru had been a sweet and wonderful baby.   
  
  
  
Kikuno wiped tears from her eyes as one particular memory assaulted her mind, it had been shortly after Mamoru had been born.   
  
(Flashback)  
  
  
  
It had been the look on Suichii's face when he had seen Mamoru for the first time, and while Reiji was being congratulated for his accomplishment in a beautiful son; Kikuno could see the hurt in her lovers eyes doubled by her own pain at not being able to tell him that this little baby was his.   
  
The first three years of Mamoru's young life had been passed in relative safety for him and his mother. Kikuno had convinced herself that her husband Reiji believed Mamoru to be his own son, and the acceptance of Mamoru by his older brothers seemed to strengthen this idea in her mind.   
  
  
  
All of this security and blissful ignorance came to an end for Kikuno the day she quite by accident stumbled upon a voice mail message for her husband, on his answering machine while she had been straightening up his office. It had been from her son's doctor and had claimed that the blood test result's that Reiji had asked for were available for his perusal at his earliest convenience. Immediately a dreadful fear wound its way into Kikuno's heart. A blood test meant that Reiji might find out that Mamoru was not his son. Then again Kikuno wondered why her husband had requested the test in the first place, unless he already suspected as much, and wanted to confirm his suspicions.   
  
  
  
Kikuno knew that she had to find out once and for all what her husband knew about Mamoru and then she would need to decide what to do about it. She had never really feared that Reiji would hurt her or Mamoru but she was no fool. Kikuno had seen her husband's temper before, and she knew he would not take the news of her infidelity lightly or calmly. She also feared for her lover and her baby's true father, Suichii. Kikuno knew of the strained relationship between the brothers, and how it became even more unstable when she married Reiji. Something like this could easily be a ticking time bomb that would lead to a real confrontation between the brothers.   
  
  
  
Her mind set, Kikuno had erased the message on the recorder hoping to buy herself some extra time and left the office before her husband found her there. She knew he was leaving on business that night. His two creepy body guards had been seen at the estate earlier that day, and the German red head and the tall and ominous American only accompanied her husband home before he left town on extended business. They were what her husband called, "special" body guards. The only thing that Kikuno knew was that every time that German man looked at her, a chill would crawl down her spine and she felt as if her deepest secrets were at risk. Basically she was unconvertible in their presence and usually kept her distance unless it was required that she be by Reiji's side.   
  
(End of Flashback)  
  
  
  
As the subway train screeched to a halt Kikuno was taken from her thoughts and into the present by the jerking of the subway car she was in. Exhaustedly getting to her feet Kikuno exited the train and began her short walk to the apartment where she hoped her son was waiting. Sometimes she would come home and he would still be out with this friend June, but usually she would find him either madly clicking away at his computer or asleep at the keyboard. She still didn't know where Mamoru's affinity for electronics and computers came from, it was certainly not from her. This thought brought a soft smile to her tired face. Her Mamoru was a good boy, and she only wanted what was best for him. However she was on her own,and as much as she wanted to spend every waking hour with him, she needed to work so that they could eat and have a place to live.   
  
  
  
For his part, her son never complained and never seemed to blame her for her decision to alienate him from his father and brothers. Kikuno had always been truthful with her son and knew that with the constant fear of being discovered by Reiji or one of his goons, that Mamoru needed to be well informed and educated about his father. Mamoru even knew of how his mother had during his father's absence, taken it upon herself to find out all of Reiji's dark secrets.   
  
(Flashback)  
  
After rummaging through Reiji's computer and desk as well as reading a journal her husband kept hidden in a bookshelf, Kikuno couldn't believe what a monster she had married. But all his illegal and horrible ambitions aside, what truly terrified her the most was the knowledge that Reiji did indeed know that Mamoru was not his son. What was worse was that Reiji knew even without the blood test that his brother was Mamoru's father and that his wife had been unfaithful. Terror had gripped Kikuno as she had read the horribly evil words that her husband wrote about her son and his desire to rid himself of the proof of his wife's betrayal, and to possibly rid himself or her as well.   
  
It took no less then a second for Kikuno to dash from the disheveled office to her room to pack what she could carry and then proceed Mamoru's room, with one thought screaming in her mind all the way, she had to get out of there before that monster returned.   
  
(End of Flashback)   
  
Mamoru knew of her flight from his father, and this knowledge was important since Kikuno herself could not always be by her son's side, so she kept nothing from Mamoru, except one minor detail.   
  
  
  
Mamoru had no idea that Reiji was not really is father.  
  
She had always meant to tell him, but she knew if she did he would try to seek Suichii out, and that could be dangerous for them both. Plus her beloved did not know that Mamoru was his.   
  
  
  
Shaking her head at her own insecurities and secretiveness Kikuno turned the key in the door of her apartment and walked in to her home of the past 2 years.   
  
  
  
As she walked into the kitchen to drop off her bag and followed the faint glow of her son's faithful computer to his rooml, she smiled at the familiar site of her joy and her one reason for all the hardship she had to endure. Her son was in a familiar position drooling into the keyboard that cradled his head. Mamoru's soft and regular breathing filled the room as his mother lightly shook him and guided his half asleep form to his bed and tucked him in; he might be 15 but she still enjoyed tucking in her baby.   
  
  
  
As Kikuno turned to shut off her son's computer and consequently drown the room in darkness her eyes fell on the monitor and she noticed that some kind of file was open and a disk was in the drive. Curious at what Mamoru had been up to, even in her tired state Kikuno scrolled down the extensive script not really reading what was there until she saw a name and her heart froze. There in bold letters under a list of names of colleagues of what looked like some kind of big business Kikuno saw the name that fueled her fears, Taketori Reiji, her husband.   
  
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TBC  
  
Well that looks like a good place to stop, I hope you liked it and please review, they fuel my inspiration and desire to post more chapters. ^_^ 


	3. June's Wager

Oh look at all the reviews!!!! ^_^ I am so happy. Anyway to clarify some things, I do not intend to change Mamoru's name to Omi. Since in the series the only reason his name was changed was due to his kidnapping and amnesia. Since neither happened in my little universe then the name change seems unnecessary. Plus Mamoru will most likely not become an assassin but he might end up helping our favorite group of beautiful assassins. He will meet the rest of Weiss, when it is time. ^_^ Be patient. The fic focuses more on Kikuno and Mamoru then the rest of Weiss, but I may hint at a pairing with omi and a certain someone, but you will have to wait for that. (I am so evil) _ Anyway the action should be picking up in the next few chapters so, it's all good. ^_^  
  
(Author's Notes): Ok, in this chapter we are going to return to where we left off with Mamoru and June and see what the heck happened with them.   
  
Disclaimer: Don't own Weiss Kreuz and never will, its so sad. Anyway just borrowing the characters for a little fun, so on with the story, ENJOY. ^_^  
  
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Chapter 3:  
  
June's Wager  
  
The buzzing of the disk drive signaled to Mamoru that he had successfully downloaded the file that his friend June so desperately needed. The clicking of her tongue and the knowledge that she was leaning on the back of the chair behind him was beginning to wear on Mamoru's nerves, as he popped out the disk and held it up for her to grab.   
  
"There done, now can we go....?" Mamoru said as he turned around too quickly and almost caused June to trip when the chair she had been leaning up against suddenly moved out from under her.   
  
"Well, that would be good but look at all that code." She pointed to the screen with a diminutive smirk.   
  
  
  
"Oh crap!!!!" Mamoru huffed as he noticed that the file he had found was heavily encoded and it would take even him hours to decode. "Well you wanted the file so badly June, you can bust your butt decoding it," Mamoru smirked right back at her.   
  
  
  
"Well I could do that, or we could make a little wager." June teased as she rocked back and fourth on her heals, a smart ass expression on her face. "What kind of wager," Mamoru was no fool, June's wagers were often as bent as her sadistic sense of humor.   
  
  
  
"I propose a little contest, Mr. Hacker-san," June put her arm around Mamoru's shoulder as she continued. "First off, make a second copy of the file for yourself, then we each take one and see who can hack it first," as Mamoru lifted a delicate eyebrow, June just giggled and continued. "The winner, or the person who breaks the code first has to ummm," June took a moment to think of some kind of prize that she would want to win from Mamoru. "Oh, I know, the winner has to clean the bedroom of the loser wearing the clothes of that persons choice, and then pose for a photo that could be used later for emotional blackmail."   
  
  
  
Mamoru sighed, June was sometimes too scary for belief, but the idea of her cleaning his room in his mother's old Halloween costume from a few years back, was tempting, but at the same time Mamoru knew that if he lost, June would have the excuse she had been waiting for to get him in one of her older sister's clubbing dresses. UGH, the idea of cleaning June's room in one of her sister's "let's pick up a guy" ensembles was not his idea of a good time. However, he knew he would not lose so there was no real risk, besides his room needed a good dusting and that floor defiantly needed to be vacuumed.   
  
  
  
A smirk appeared on Mamoru's lips, "Deal" he said as he shook June's hand then turned to download himself a copy of the file.   
  
  
  
Just as the two hackers had packed up Mamoru's gear and were preparing themselves to leave a loud banging came at the office door. Both froze, and two pairs of baby blue eyes focused first on the door and the cursing coming from the person on the other side, and then at each other.   
  
  
  
"Any ideas", June said with her usual calm and finesse.   
  
  
  
"Behind the door, and take my stuff," Mamoru said as he dumped his stuff and the disks into June's arms and pushed her towards the door. "I'll distract whoever is there and you run outside and wait for me around the corner; whoever it is they won't recognize me, but they might recognize you." June nodded and ducked behind the door as Mamoru took a breath and unlocked the office door.   
  
  
  
He was met by an annoyed looking 20 something intern who's arms were full of files and was trying to find his keys in his pocket, while attempting to not drop his papers all over the floor. The intern looked up with mild shock as the door suddenly and magically opened before him.   
  
  
  
"Who are you and what are you doing in there?" he said with only mild annoyance and more surprise.   
  
  
  
Mamoru turned on the charm and hoped it would work, he smiled up to the intern and tried to look horribly embarrassed. "Well I was looking for the bathroom and ended up in here, you wouldn't happen to know where it is would you?" he was even sure he was blushing to add to his little act.   
  
  
  
The intern rolled his eyes in feigned and overly dramatic annoyance as he pushed passed Mamoru to dump his load on his desk. Mamoru made sure to open the door all the way, supposedly to let his savior in, but in actuality to help hide June from the intern's eyes.   
  
  
  
"Yah, kid come with me and I'll show you, but next time why don't you just ask the secretary, huh?" Mamoru nodded and turned to leave with the intern, purposely leaving the door ajar so June could make her getaway.   
  
  
  
As Mamoru and the irritate intern moved off towards the bathrooms June could hear Mamoru laying it on thick, about how he was so grateful and such, she stifled a giggle and decided to not waste her chance. Slipping out of the office June made a b-line for the glass, double doors that lead to the wonderful outdoors, not once looking back at the curious looks the other employees gave to the girl who had just run through the lobby.   
  
June sat on bench around the corner from her father's office building wondering what was taking Mamoru so long, it had been five minutes already. In the mean time she mused at how great a friend Mamoru was, and how she wouldn't have been able to ask anyone else to help her as he had.   
  
  
  
June knew little about Mamoru's family besides his mother, but from what she could gather his other family must be less than desirable, because they were never mentioned. When she did bring the subject up Mamoru would change from the open and energetic person he was, to a quiet and withdrawn shell of his normal self. It was usually a taboo topic that was never spoken of, but she knew that something must have happened to invoke such a reaction out of her best friend.   
  
  
  
June was lifted from her thoughts when a hand was lain on her shoulder and she spun around to see the object of her thoughts standing behind her looking sheepish for making jump in surprise.   
  
  
  
"About time Mamu-chan," June smirked, "thought you fell in or something," at Mamoru's playful scowl she collapsed into a fit of giggles as she stood up and handed him his bag.   
  
  
  
"You owe me for that", Mamoru shot back at her. "That annoying intern actually waited outside of the men's room for me to finish so he could escort me out of the building," at this June collapsed into full out laughter instead of the giggles that she had been accosted with before.   
  
  
  
"Ok, ok how about this, I buy us dinner, will that make up for your embarrassment?" June asked as she tried in between giggles to compose herself again.   
  
  
  
"Yah, I can never say no to free food, and besides my mom cooked again."   
  
  
  
Mamoru's shudder at his mothers cooking, caused June to smirk, she had tried Kikuno's delicacies before, and for a woman who worked in a restaurant her cooking skills left a lot to be desired.   
  
~*~  
  
  
  
Unlocking the door and placing his computer bag down long enough to find the light switch along the wall, Mamoru grinned at the evening that he had just had. After his little adventure in hacking with June this afternoon, he had dragged her to their favorite Chinese restaurant and let her treat him to a well deserved and earned dinner. Afterwards they had gone to see a movie and that was why he was just getting in at almost 11p.m.   
  
Thankful that he was home before his mother Mamoru trudged off to his room to take a shower and to begin hacking at that file, there was no way he was going to end up cleaning June's room in some slutty dress.   
  
  
  
Two hours later found Mamoru still diligently working at the heavily encoded file, but he knew he was close to cracking the code. June had just e-mailed him that she was working on it at her end as well.   
  
  
  
Smirking at the fact that he would soon have his own personal maid dressed in an old ballerina costume from Halloween's past, Mamoru initiated the program he was confident would decode the file.   
  
  
  
Accosted by a sudden attack of yawns, Mamoru laid his head on the desk realizing only now how tired he was. It was past 1a.m. and he had to get up for school at 6 a.m., plus his mom would be home any minute. These were the thoughts that occupied Mamoru's mind as he fell into a peaceful slumber; not to be awakened again until he felt the gentle shake of his shoulders and the familiar sent and voice of his mother.   
  
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TBC  
  
Well that's about it for his chapter, stay tuned I believe Omi is going to run into our favorite assassins in the next chapter. ^_^ 


	4. Flower Shop?

(Authors Notes):   
  
Wow, two chapters written at once. I must have been super inspired by all the reviews I got. ^_^ Well I don't have much more to say than that. Oh, and in this chapter Mamoru will finally meet the rest of Weiss. Why are they in Kyoto, and how will Kikuno react to the file she found? Well read and find out. ^_^  
  
Disclaimer: Don't own Weiss Kreuz, I think I have established this fact by now. ^_^  
  
Well on with the fic, so Enjoy. ^_~  
  
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Chapter 4:  
  
Flower Shop?  
  
The smell of miso lifted Mamoru from his sleep only minutes before his alarm clock would have. He rubbed the sleepy haze from his eyes as his brain slowly came to the realization that his mother was cooking again, and that he had woken up about 5 minutes earlier than he needed to.   
  
  
  
Tempted to just roll over and go back to sleep Mamoru decided to just get up and get on with his day. Besides he had a bet to win. That in mind he grabbed his school uniform and dressed quickly, running a quick hand through his hair and brushing his teeth. Mamoru like his mother had been blessed with hair that just always seemed to cooperate, and never look disheveled even in the early morning.   
  
  
  
June had once commented on a sleep over, about how unfair it all was and how she had to spend almost an hour each morning getting her own stubborn auburn locks to do just what she wanted them to do; not to mention the fact that having waist length hair didn't help matters any.   
  
  
  
Once satisfied that he didn't look like a slob, Mamoru grabbed his book bag, thanking the gods that he had finished his homework the day before, during a free period and at lunch. Turning to his desk to grab the hopefully decoded disk he froze. WHERE THE HELL WAS THE DISK!!!!!!!  
  
  
  
A call of his name by his mother broke him out of his frantic search of his cluttered desk as the call to breakfast was heard. Speaking of his mother, the somewhat hazy memory of falling asleep at his desk while waiting for the disk to decode the night before, then being led to bed half asleep by his mother made Mamoru realize that she might be responsible for the missing disk. Mamoru also noticed his computer was shut off. He hardly ever shut off his computer, opting to usually let it run continuously as long as he was home.   
  
  
  
Entering the kitchen the lost disk was found sitting on the counter by his mothers purse. As he went to grab it and a quick apple before darting out the door his mother's worried voice stopped him dead in his tracks.   
  
  
  
"Mamoru sweetheart, aren't you going to at least have breakfast before school?" At his nod and consent to stay and eat with her she continued, "I found that disk in your computer last night when I got home."  
  
  
  
"I need to know something Mamoru."   
  
  
  
He quirked an eyebrow at this, since when was his mother interested in anything that had to do with computers?   
  
  
  
"Um, ok mom what do you want to know?" Mamoru asked, and by the look on his mother's face it must be important. This made him worry, did she suspect something, did she know about his hacking adventures with June?!?!?!  
  
  
  
"Where did you get that file honey?"  
  
  
  
Mamoru almost choked on his miso soup, as he made eye contact with Kikuno. But the fear and worry in her eyes made him realize that this had a lot more importance than just his choice of hobbies.   
  
  
  
"June and I downloaded it from a computer network at her father's office building", Mamoru gulped, he had never been one to lie to his mother, since she was always truthful with him, he couldn't make himself lie to her. The hacking thing was not a lie as long as she didn't ask about it, right?  
  
  
  
"I'm not going to ask why in the world you and June would be taking files from her father's company," Kikuno said with a small frown. "I would like to know however, why your father's name is in that file?" she said as her frown dissolved into a worried and almost scared expression.  
  
  
  
Mamoru started, he hadn't actually been able to read the file yet, he had fallen asleep before the decoding was complete. If his mother read the file that meant the program he had used worked, inwardly Mamoru was jumping for joy, now June would be toast when he told her he had finished first. Then suddenly what else his mother had said finally sunk in....FATHER!!!!!!!!  
  
  
  
Mamoru turned to Kikuno with a bewildered expression on his face, what did she mean by his father's name being in the file.   
  
  
  
At her son's obvious confusion, Kikuno decided to elaborate on her earlier questions by explaining what she meant. "When I scrolled down the text I found a list of business associates for whatever company June's father owns, the name Taketori Reiji was on the list."   
  
  
  
Mamoru's head was swimming, how could this be true? Did June's father really associate with the monster that he had been told was his mother's husband!   
  
  
  
Seeing the fear and confusion in her son's eyes Kikuno sighed and walked to the table to embrace her little Mamoru. "I'm sorry I upset you honey, I am just worried, its been 2 years since anything like this has come up; I thought that may-be, finally it might be over." "That we might be done running, and now this, I just don't know what to think." Kikuno felt her son return the hug as he looked up at her, tears brimming his beautiful baby blue eyes.   
  
  
  
"I didn't know mom, I swear." there was almost a desperate tone to his voice like he was worried that she would blame him for the situation.   
  
  
  
"It's OK Mamoru, I know you didn't realize it but we need to be careful, I know you don't want to run again and neither do I," Kikuno smiled at her son's adamant nodding.   
  
  
  
No, Mamoru didn't want to run again, he didn't want to leave the school where he was happy, he didn't want to leave the best friend he had ever had, June. He didn't want to have to start over again like so many other times before. No, not again, never again if he could help it.   
  
  
  
Mind set, Mamoru broke out of his mother's embrace and smiled up at her as he stood, "don't worry mom I will be careful and keep an eye out for father or anyone else you have told me about." "I will ask June about the names and maybe its just some coincidence or something, it may not be of any threat to us at all, right?"   
  
  
  
Kikuno sighed in some relief at how her son was reacting to this sudden mess, and at herself for her over reacting. Mamoru was right, just because Reiji's name was on the list it didn't necessarily mean he was going to bang down their door any minute and drag them away from the lives they had built for themselves.   
  
  
  
Breaking out in her own brilliant smile to match the one her son dawned, Kikuno chucked and ruffled Mamoru's hair, at his annoyed huff she just giggles more. "Ok you, I do believe someone has school and I have grocery shopping to do before I have work tonight.   
  
  
  
Mamoru was only partially relived by the change in topic, on one side he was thankful that his mom looked less worried now. She had enough to worry about without anything like his father to worry on and on about. She had been protecting him all his young life from a man that Mamoru only knew wanted him dead, and now when their lives finally seemed to be free of his threats, this stupid file had to dredge up all the past fears again.   
  
  
  
Finishing the instant miso and grabbing the disk off the counter, Mamoru took this school bag and turned to give his mother a kiss on the cheek, "don't worry it will all work out, I'll keep us safe," he smiled at his mothers thoughtful expression and smiling eyes as he turned on his heal and ran out the door to meet June for their traditional walk to school.  
  
~*~  
  
  
  
June smiled as she saw Mamoru walking out of the apartment building that he and his mother lived in. That was until she saw the worried expression on his face, interpreting it as his failure to hack the file she smirked again and ran up to him with her customary and very tactile greeting.   
  
  
  
Letting go of her vice like grip on Mamoru's arm June decided to see if her earlier conclusion was true, "hey Mamu-chan why so glum, have as much trouble hacking that file as I did last night?"   
  
  
  
June did not expect the all knowing laugh that escaped her friends lips as he turned to her smiling brilliantly in the early morning sun.   
  
  
  
"Nope, I hacked it how about you, huh June-bug?"   
  
  
  
Bristled at the gross nick name that Mamoru called her whenever he wanted to get back at her for the nick name she had saddled him with, June tried to hide her surprise and frustration at being beaten at her own game.   
  
  
  
"No, I couldn't break the code, and I practically stayed up all night to, DAMN, sometimes I hate it that you are so much better at this hacking thing than I am.   
  
  
  
In reality June was not too upset that she would have to clean Mamoru's room or wear whatever insane outfit he would choose for her, she was more bummed that she had lost a perfect opportunity to see her Mamu-chan in a dress.   
  
  
  
"Oh well, I concede defeat and bow to the master," with a melodramatic wave of her arm and bow she giggled at the blush that found its way to Mamoru's cheeks. She just loved to get him flustered, it always made her day.   
  
  
  
June was about to ask Mamoru what was on the disk and if she could have it, since she was the one that requested it in the first place, when a gigantic roar of squeals and innate chatter interrupted her thoughts.   
  
  
  
"What the HELL is all that racket?!?!" she bellowed as they turned a street corner that would lead them directly to a park near their school.   
  
  
  
What came into view was not the usual morning site of joggers or school children walking to school, that usually met their eyes every morning on their walks. Instead a horde of school girls and the occasional curious passers by were surrounding what looked like some kind of mobile shop or large van.   
  
  
  
Grabbing Mamoru's arm and practically dragging him with her June was just as drawn to the site as the other girls already there.   
  
  
  
Mamoru just held on for dear life while June made a mad dash for the crowd of cooing and giggling schoolgirls. He sighed and rolled his eyes, but was actually genuinely curious at what might spark such a large horde.   
  
  
  
What came into view as they neared the front of the van/shop was not something that he had been expecting, there were flowers everywhere, in buckets and colorful arrangements, on shelves and tables surrounded by girls who were fingering the blossoms and giggling like idiots.   
  
  
  
"A flower shop?" Mamoru said in awe and a little curiosity.   
  
  
  
Suddenly a roaring voice practically had Mamoru jumping into orbit, as it bellowed, "If your not going to buy something then leave!!!"   
  
  
  
All eyes went to an annoyed looking redhead emerging from the van with a bouquet of roses in his hands and amethyst ice chips, that Mamoru guessed were this guys eyes. These eyes locked onto the immense gathering of gawkers, before huffing and moving to put down the arrangement.   
  
  
  
"Geeze, Aya-kun scare all the lovely ladies away why don't ya," a tall and lanky blond said as he, with relative ease maneuvered between the lovesick teens. "Of course I only go for those over 18, you lovely girls are just a little to young I'm afraid to say," at the collective sighs and teary comments that the girls gave, the man smiled until he came face to face with a seemingly unaffected blue eyed and auburn haired girl.   
  
  
  
Mamoru giggled at the scene about to play out before him, June was a sucker for blondes and those green eyes, he felt almost sorry for the guy.   
  
  
  
So intent on watching June harass the blonde bombshell Mamoru almost shrieked like one of the school girls, when a soft voice came from out of no where asking him if he was looking for any flowers.  
  
  
  
Turning around to answer Mamoru almost forgot to breathe when he came face to face with a brunette and brown eyed Adonis. "Wait, what was that he was thinking?" Mamoru shook his head to erase those thoughts and compose himself before he made an even more a fool out of himself.   
  
  
  
Soft chuckling caused Mamoru to open his baby blue eyes to the smiling eyes of the jock/florist before him. Smiling brilliantly to cover his embarrassment Mamoru laughed and decided if he was going to save face he might as well make it look like he had intended to buy something.   
  
  
  
"Well do you need help, umm...." the brunette stopped short when he realized he didn't know the blue eyed angel's name.   
  
  
  
"Mamoru only blushed more, confident that he now looked just as love struck and foolish as the hordes of giggling school girls, and his blonde hunk-chasing friend June.   
  
  
  
"Um, Mamoru, my name is Mamoru and I was um....." quickly Mamoru racked his brain for an excuse for him to buy flowers until the preverbal light bulb went off in his head.   
  
  
  
"My mom, yah I wanted to buy some flowers for her," yah that worked, plus some flowers might cheer up his mother from the scare she had last night.   
  
  
  
"That's nice, you're real close with your mother huh, and by the way the name is Ken, and that is Youji..." the brunette pointed to himself then over to the nervous looking blonde that looked like he was trying to detach himself from the vice like grip of the crazy girl attached to his arm.   
  
  
  
At ken's supposed confusion at the scene he as witnessing, Mamoru giggled returning the brunette's gaze to him as he said, " don't mind her she's like that all the time, when she gets board she will eventually let him go, trust me."   
  
  
  
The brunette smiled at Mamoru and continued his introductions, "that irritate redhead by the register is Aya-kun, he isn't really that sour, once you get to know him."   
  
  
  
Mamoru chuckled at the comment and decided that he needed to hurry and buy something before he and June were late to classes.   
  
  
  
Looking around at the flowers he felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up to see Ken-san smiling down at him. "What kind of flowers does your mother like?" he said.   
  
  
  
Mamoru didn't even need to think about that for a second, he and his mother liked the same flowers, "Freesia blossoms, preferably potted, not bouquet," he replied.  
  
  
  
Ken nodded and headed off into the throngs of girls leaving Mamoru to feel suddenly all alone in a sea of giggles and sighs. Only to return moments later with exactly the potted flowers Mamoru had just asked for.   
  
  
  
Too busy smiling up at Ken-san Mamoru for the first time since forever actually started at the sudden grip on his arm.   
  
  
  
Mamoru saw Ken-san raise an eyebrow at the sight of the girl who had previously been harassing Youji now attach herself to Mamoru.   
  
  
  
"Hey Mamu-chan stop flirting we have to get to school or we'll be late," at Mamoru's shocked and heavily embarrassed expression June only smirked.  
  
  
  
She had always known somehow that Mamoru was just as interested in guys as she was and personally, the absolutely adorable scene of him and the brunette florist together was what had roused her from her own babe-hunt as she had let go of her grip on the blonde to reattach herself to her best friend's arm and see what was going on up close.   
  
  
  
At June's horribly embarrassing comment, Mamoru fought not to crawl into a hole somewhere and die, then he realized that she was right, if they didn't hurry they would be late for first period classes.   
  
  
  
Looking to Ken-san Mamoru told him he would buy the flowers but that he couldn't take them to school with him. June piped in and helpfully, and asked if the brunette could hold onto the flowers until the two of them got out of school and could pick them up.   
  
  
  
Ken nodded at the suggestion as Mamoru gave him the money for the flowers and told him what time he would stop buy to pick up his mother's flowers.  
  
  
  
As Ken watched the furiously blushing Mamoru being practically dragged off by his energetic friend he smiled until a voice from behind broke through his musings.  
  
  
  
"So that's the Taketori kid huh," the lanky blond said as he walked up to Ken and watched said boy and the throngs of girls that had been at the flower shop walk to the nearby high school.  
  
  
  
"Yah it looks like the picture that Manx showed us in the files," Ken said as a frown marred his handsome features. The idea of a monster like Reiji Taketori spawning something as kind and sweet as the boy he had just met seemed impossible to the brunette soccer player/florist/assassin.   
  
  
  
  
  
A deep and ominous voice from behind Ken made him turn around to face their collective leader, "if that is Taketori's kid we keep an eye on him and his mother, eventually Taketori will show up to take them back and when he does I'll be waiting for him," Aya said with a scowl on his face.   
  
  
  
"But Aya..." Ken said in defense of the little boy he had just met. "Taketori wants to hurt that kid and his mother we can't just use them like this and put them in danger."   
  
  
  
Youji piped in with his own opinion on the matter at Aya's deepening frown, "Ken-kun's right Aya, that maniac has been looking for his wife and son for years, according to Manx he just recently discovered they were here in Kyoto, granted he will most likely show up soon and it would be a good opportunity to get him, but that's not the mission and you know it."  
  
  
  
Aya's frown deepened as he looked at his two colleagues, "if you two want to follow the original mission parameters and protect the boy and his mother you can go ahead, but my only reason for being in Weiss is to get revenge on Taketori and anything else comes second to that goal."  
  
  
  
Ken and Youji gave a collective sigh as Aya stormed off to straighten up the flowers that had been muddled by the horde of school girls.   
  
  
  
Now that they had found one of their two targets, all they had to do was keep an eye on the kid, and find out where he and his mother lived, then after that they just had to sit back and wait for Taketori to come for them.   
  
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TBC  
  
Wow that chapter was longer than I intended it to be, but it's all good. ^_^ Well the plot thickens, and the Weiss boys have appeared on the scene. For anyone who is confused about the van/flower shop, ever seen the OVA? Yah, they have a flower van so they can be mobile assassins. ^_~ Next chapter will come soon so stay tuned, and please review, it will inspire me to keep writing like this. ^_^ 


	5. Nagi's Good Deed?

(Author's Notes): Yay, more reviews=more chapters, so here is Chapter 5. I decided for this chapter that Nagi will make an appearance and Kikuno will learn that not all good deeds are meant to have good intentions. ^_~ Well read and Enjoy. ^_^ And don't forget to Review. ^_^  
  
Disclaimer: Again as I said before I don't own Weiss Kreuz, I'm beginning to sound like a broken record. ^_~ However June is mine, and if you want to use my little spit-fire all you need to do is ask. ^_^  
  
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Chapter 5: Nagi's Good Deed?  
  
  
  
Kikuno shifted the umbrella in her hand as she checked her watch to make sure that she wasn't running late. The fact that the early morning sun had been blotted out by an unexpected rainstorm didn't help her already down spirits.   
  
  
  
Satisfied that she was not running late she stopped in front of the small grocery store that was only about a block from their apartment building. After shaking the rain out of the umbrella she entered the store absentmindedly grabbing a basket while running a list of what items she needed to buy through her head.  
  
  
  
As Kikuno made her trek up and down the isles collecting her groceries she thought back to that morning, and the disk she had found in her son's computer. She hoped with all her being that the name on the disk was that only, a name and that it wasn't the beginning of something more.   
  
  
  
Kikuno had not been just humoring Mamoru when she had said that she had not wanted to run again. Kikuno was happy at the job she worked and was according to her boss due for a promotion soon. That would mean more money coming in, and may-be she could now start to save up for their futures, like college for her son, and her own future as well.   
  
  
  
The thought of having to give all that up to run again and start over made her blood boil. What gave Reiji the right to pursue her like this and to put her son in danger. It had been 12 years and he still couldn't let go?   
  
  
  
He had his money and his other son's and she knew from her perusal of his journal that he had been about as faithful to her as she had been to him. According to his writing's around the same time Mamoru was born he had been seeing some women in Tokyo who ran a restaurant. So that made her husband a hypocrite right? Was he aloud happiness and she was not?  
  
  
  
Kikuno shook her head to disrupt her venomous thoughts, anger was never a solution. She was as angry with Reiji as she was scared of him, and her thoughts would only serve to make matters worse.   
  
  
  
Looking down at the basket in her hand she with no small amount of amusement noticed that while she had been venting her frustrations in her mind, that she had absentmindedly collected all that she needed to buy.   
  
  
  
Once outside the store Kikuno grumbled at the drizzle that had turned into a full out downpour. "Great, can this day get any more frustrating...." she huffed while attempting to balance two grocery bags in her hand and to open her umbrella so that she would not get drenched on her trek home.   
  
  
  
A soft voice came from behind her and almost had Kikuno drop all her groceries into a puddle.   
  
  
  
"Can I help you with your bags, miss...?"  
  
  
  
Kikuno turned and almost gasped as she came face to face with the Prussian blue eyes and dark chocolate hair of a boy, that could not be any older then her Mamoru was. He was standing in the rain holding a black umbrella and wearing a gray school uniform.   
  
  
  
Somewhere in the back of her mind Kikuno wondered why this polite youth was not in school, and at the same time another part of her mind told her that she would be a fool not to take the kid up on his offer.   
  
  
  
Then another part of her mind that had kept her and her son safe from her husband's pursuit for 12 years piped in, and wondered if she could trust this kid. Kikuno scolded herself for those thoughts, since when would her husband hire some kid who looked hardly Mamoru's age to hunt her down. Smiling at her own paranoia she looked to the boy patiently waiting for her to stop gapping like an idiot and answer him.  
  
  
  
"That's very kind of you, young man and I would appreciate your help." Kikuno held out a grocery bag for the boy to take and shifted her white umbrella in her hand to better protect herself and her groceries from the elements.   
  
  
  
Turning to the boy who was now following her Kikuno said, "my apartment isn't far so it shouldn't take you too much out of your way." At the boy's resounding nod she ventured further to ask, "what is your name young man and why aren't you at school?"   
  
  
  
The boy turned his deep blue eyes to her and she felt an unconvertible chill go down her spine at the look. Shaking her head to dispel the unusual feeling she only just caught his answer.  
  
  
  
"My name is Nagi and I am just visiting Kyoto I don't live or go to school here."  
  
  
  
Well that explained to Kikuno why her little helper was not in school and as she processed this information she noticed that they were approaching her apartment building. Turning to Nagi she smiled at him and turned to the building, "here we are, home sweet home."  
  
  
  
Once the groceries were set down in her kitchen Kikuno turned to the quiet youth standing by the door of her apartment. It was still raining out and she felt like a heal to just let the poor boy who had gone out of his way to help her, just go back out into that horrible weather.   
  
  
  
She motioned to Nagi to enter and moved to the stove to set water to boil, "would you like some tea dear, it would warm you up while we wait for the rain to stop?"  
  
The boy made no verbal response he just set his umbrella down next to hers and took a seat at the kitchen table.   
  
  
  
Right away Kikuno noticed the difference between this boy and her own Mamoru. While her son was open and almost giddy with energy and smiles, this quiet boy was solemn and almost dark in his presence. It wasn't an altogether unconvertible presence, it just seemed too dark for such a young boy, like he'd seen more then he should have in his brief life.   
  
  
  
Time seemed to pass quickly as Kikuno tried to involve herself and the boy Nagi, in small talk and general conversation. He didn't seem like the type to engage normally in small talk but he seemed willing and he liked the tea she had given him since he was now holding an empty cup.   
  
  
  
As she got up to refill his empty cup Nagi changed the mode of convertible and safe conversation that they had been involve with to something altogether different. He asked if she had family or if she lived alone.   
  
  
  
At first Kikuno's natural defenses seemed to scream at her not to divulge the information to the seemingly curious boy, but then she felt silly. It was an innocent enough question so she suppressed her normally suspicious feelings and decided to be cautiously truthful with the boy.   
  
  
  
She told him of her son Mamoru and her job as a waitress in a popular Kyoto restaurant but she failed to divulge any specific information on the location of the restaurant. She also didn't give a clear cut answer when Nagi asked her were her son attended school. By this time Nagi's questions were becoming more specific and Kikuno felt that familiar unconvertible feeling she had been trying so hard to suppress come back to her ten fold.  
  
  
  
Why was a boy she had only just met, so seemingly interested in Mamoru or herself for that matter. There conversation was fast becoming more like an interrogation from Kikuno's point of view and she felt herself giving less then specific and more guarded answers, until she decided she had had enough.  
  
  
  
Looking down at her watch she noticed that she had to leave for work in under two hours and she still needed to make dinner for Mamoru, also she noticed when she looked behind Nagi to the kitchen window that the rain had begun to let up.   
  
  
  
Turning to boy who was now giving her that same cool and unreadable expression as before, Kikuno plastered what she hoped was convincing smile on her face and told Nagi that she had enjoyed their talk, but that she had to get ready for work and that he probably needed to be going.   
  
  
  
The response she got was not what Kikuno had expected and left a apprehensive feeling in her as Nagi smiled up at her while collecting this umbrella and turning to leave. Before he was out the door he turned to her and simply stated that she had been a great help to him and he would be seeing her around.   
  
  
  
The comment was defiantly unusual and made Kikuno feel as if she was the one who had been providing a service to Nagi and not the other way around. She went to the kitchen window to see if he was still outside but only saw the usual mid-day traffic and pedestrians who dared to venture out now that the rain was receding and sun was again making a presence in the sky.   
  
  
  
Willing away her worry Kikuno moved back to the kitchen to start making Mamoru's dinner and to continue her normal routine. Perhaps the familiar nature of her daily routine would calm her thoughts and dispel the growing fear that something big was on the horizon.   
  
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TBC  
  
Well sorry it took so long to update, been busy. ^_^ Well next chapter will return to Weiss and Mamoru, hoped you enjoyed this chapter and stay tuned for the next one. ^_~ 


	6. The Disk

Yay I'm back, and I brought a new chapter with me. ^_~ Sorry I haven't updated for 2 months. _ I decided to take two summer writing courses and I was so busy with them that I couldn't find any time to write for this fic. But now that my fall classes have only just started, I have some time to work on this fic. Thanks to all who have reviewed and for being patient with me. Well on with the show, Enjoy. ^_^  
  
(Author's Note): In this chapter we will return to Mamoru and June and finally find out what is on that disk.   
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Weiss Kreuz, some other lucky soul does, only borrowing the characters for some fun, Enjoy.   
  
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Chapter 6: The Disk   
  
Mamoru sighed as he sat down and made himself convertible under a tree in the courtyard of the private school he and June attended. Most of the students liked to eat lunch outside when the weather was nice, and even though it had rained earlier that morning, the sizzling summer sun had quickly dried the outdoors. As he unpacked the lunch his mother had placed in his bag this morning while they were talking, he thought back to earlier when he and June had decided to check out the disk on a computer in the library during their free period.   
  
(Flashback)  
  
"Hey Mamo-chan are you going to hold onto that disk all morning, or are you going to share the wealth, and let me see what's on it?" June stated from her seat behind her best friend.   
  
Mamoru just rolled his eyes at June's complaining, she had been bugging him about the disk ever since first period and they had already been yelled at twice by their teachers for talking in class. Mamoru was just lucky he hadn't been given detention yet.   
  
Taking his pen in hand Mamoru decided to write June a note and tell her that they could get together during free period in the library before lunch and check out the file then. Once the note was written he handed it back to her when he saw the teacher's back turned, and prayed that this would satisfy his enthusiastic friend for a while.   
  
At the feeling of being tapped on the shoulder Mamoru turned around to see June nod her head and smile as she folded his note and stuffed it into her doodle covered note book. Sighing with satisfaction that he had finally placated her, Mamoru turned around and attempted to pay attention to the rest of the lecture.   
  
(End of Flashback)  
  
As he chewed on the spiced chicken his mother had packed for him, Mamoru couldn't help but shiver at what he and June had found on the disk. From what his mother had told him of what she had seen, he already knew he would see his father's name and a list of other names, but he had been seriously unprepared for what had actually been there, and so had June.   
  
(Flashback)  
  
"Ok lets see what you found oh wise one," June said with a smirk as she plopped down in a chair by a computer she and Mamoru had chosen. It was a convenient location, away from other students and the librarians, who might wonder at what she and her partner in crime were up to.   
  
Mamoru gave her a sly smile and said, "I hope you will like wearing a ballerina costume while dusting and don't have plans this weekend or anything, because you have a date with the dust bunnies in my room".  
  
Her lips jetted out in a pathetic attempt at a pout, June retaliated by jumping out of her chair to attach herself to Mamoru's shoulders from behind his chair, "you wouldn't subject your best friend to your mom's ugly old Halloween costume would you?" "I know you are just as bent as I am Mamoru, but that is just wrong!"  
  
Laughing at June's lame attempt to save herself from the embarrassment of having her picture taken in a ballerina costume with a duster, Mamoru opened up the files on the disk he had brought with him to school.   
  
June's juvenile complaining and giggles immediately stopped as she saw the files opened and her attention was now solely on the contents within, the subject of her impending humiliation forgotten.   
  
The two hackers scanned the files that the disk contained, and discovered two disturbing facts: one was that June's father was not just being blackmailed, but that he had a lot to be blackmailed about, and two that Takatori Reiji was not just a name on a list as Mamoru had hoped; he was in fact the person who was blackmailing June's father, and was scheduled to make a trip to Kyoto within the month!   
  
Angered not only at the revelation that some big politician and businessman was blackmailing her father, but that her father himself was involved with illegal smuggling cartels and arm's dealers June slammed her hand to the desk causing Mamoru to jump in his seat.  
  
"How the hell could he be doing such things, I always knew my father was too busy to spend time with me and my sister but he is a criminal!" June was seething with anger, she had been under the idea all her life that her dad ran an import and export business and was an upstanding citizen. That knowledge had helped her accept the fact that her father had little time for her or the rest of his family. When she had hacked into his computer and found that he was making large deposits of money in a Swiss bank account, and she had seen the messages left for him by the person blackmailing him, she had immediately felt the need to protect her father.   
  
The illusion that she had lived under all her life was shattered and as she turned to her friend for moral support she was shocked to notice that Mamoru's face had turned an ashen white, and he was looking wide eyed at the screen in front of him.  
  
Wondering why Mamoru was so shaken up by her family's problems she momentarily forgot her self pity and placed a converting hand on his shoulder, but noticed he didn't react to her touch, this immediately confused her further and made her feel a slight panic. Mamoru had only ever acted like this one other time, during which she had known him, and that had been when she had first asked him about his other family.   
  
Mamoru did feel June's hand on his shoulder but his mind was in such a jumble of thoughts that he couldn't pull himself away. His father was coming here! To Kyoto, and soon! No this was not possible, it couldn't be.   
  
Frantically scrolling down the file, and ignoring June's increasing concern, Mamoru continued to read the file and found out that her father was indeed being blackmailed into helping Taketori with a "secret project" which was not named but whatever it was, Mamoru's father was holding June's father's illegal activities over his head as a means of getting his corporation.   
  
If that in itself was not disturbing enough, the dates of Taketori's arrival in Kyoto was the icing on the cake, HE WAS ALREADY HERE!  
  
Immediately broken out of his inner panic by June practically smacking him upside the head, Mamoru turned to her worry stricken face as he heard a librarian's shushing in the background and the murmur of disturbed students around them. He immediately turned back to the computer and closed the file, then removed the disk from the disk drive.   
  
Jumping to his feet Mamoru grabbed June by her arm and dragged her out of the library, telling her to go get her lunch, and then they would talk, but right now he needed to make a phone call.   
  
(End of Flashback)  
  
Mamoru plastered an obviously fake smile on his face as he saw June running down the path toward him, her lunch bag in hand and an eager and anxious look on her face. He had indeed made a phone call while at his locker getting his own lunch, he had called his mother.   
  
Mamoru didn't really know what to tell her over the phone, just coming out and saying, "hi mom its me Mamoru, how is your day going, mine is fine, oh and by the way dad is coming to town!" No that wouldn't do, he decided this was something he needed to tell her in person, so he just told her to make sure to come home right after work and that they needed to talk.   
  
While every instinct and all that his mother had told him about his father screamed to Mamoru to run home and tell his mother right away that they needed to get the hell out of Kyoto, at the same time Mamoru didn't want to leave. He had a life here now and friends, he liked his school and was doing well, and he knew his mother was happy here too.   
  
Maybe his father didn't even know they were here, maybe he had given up on trying to find them and was just here on business. It was a nice fantasy but deep down Mamoru knew that he was kidding himself, his father had been trying to locate them for the past 12 years, why would he give up now.   
  
Mamoru needed to think seriously about what he was going to do now; if he told his mother about what he had found on the disk it would all be over. She would have them packed up and out of the city by tomorrow. He needed to know for certain if that was really necessary, which meant he needed to know if Taketori was here on business, or if he knew his wayward wife and her son were here as well.   
  
This in mind Mamoru greeted the concerned gaze of his friend June and as much as he didn't want to involve her in his problems he knew he would need to go back to her father's office, and he needed her to do that successfully. Now that she knew her father's secret life she would most likely jump at the opportunity to learn more.  
  
Before he told her this however, Mamoru knew he would have to do something that his mother had made him swear he would never do, he had to tell his best friend about his family and why he and his mother were in constant fear for their lives.  
  
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TBC  
  
Ok, that's it for now, sorry about no Weiss in this chapter, the guys will show up in the next update, promise. ^_^ The plot thickens and it will hopefully just get better from here, please let me know what you think, reviews inspire me greatly. ^_^ Thanks. 


	7. A New Mission

Hey Everyone! ^_^ Wow, I haven't updated this story since last summer, I had a little bit of writer's block for a while on this fic, but its gone now that my muse is cooperating with me again. ^_^ Now I'm back and with a nice long chapter, I'm also working on my other fic Second Calling and now that this update is done me and my muse can concentrate solely on that update, so be patient because its coming soon. ^_^   
  
(Author's Note): Anyway the Weiss boys make an appearance in this chapter but the POV is mostly Ken-kun's and Mamoru's. So all you Ken and Omi fans enjoy; oh and FYI there is going to be a cameo from a lesser seen Weiss Kreuz character in this chapter, so keep your eyes out or you might miss her. Enjoy! ^_^  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Weiss Kreuz, but you knew that already.   
  
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Chapter 7: A New Mission  
  
Despite the fact that he had known June for almost four years, she still had the ability to surprise him. Mamoru had spent the better part of their lunch hour explaining the specifics of his and his mother's past to her and this resulted in a blubbering and crying mess of a girl at the end of it all.   
  
Honestly, he didn't think June would become so worked up by his situation in the way she did. He figured she would be angry at him for keeping such secrets from her for so long, but to his utter surprise she not only wasn't mad at him but was balling like baby all over him.  
  
"Oh god Mamoru, if you just had told me all this long ago I never would have asked you about your past repeatedly," June muttered between sobs, as Mamoru handed her a napkin from his lunch so she could wipe her eyes for the millionth time in the past hour.   
  
"It OK really, I'm just glad you don't hate me now or anything..." Mamoru said as he rubbed comforting circles on her back to calm her down. He had never seen her so upset before, and watching her cry as she was made him feel horrible for even telling her, but at the same time he was glad he hadn't lost her friendship.   
  
Secretly, it had always been a deep and dark fear of his that she or anyone else who ever found out that he was related to the Taketori's might fear or hate him. June's reaction, while sad and a bit melodramatic in a way, made Mamoru glad she was his friend and that she was so understanding.   
  
~*~  
  
Ken had just finished up cleaning the flower stems and petals of off the table that Aya used for making arrangements, when Yohji flopped down in the chair beside the table with a disgruntled sigh.  
  
"Man this mission is really cramping my style, I was able to score a hot date with this totally sizzling babe just now, and Aya had to go and ruin it by telling her I had to work late. Seriously the ice princess needs to lighten up a little, he's going to go gray before he reaches 25 at this rate." With that said Yohji laid this head down on the table and proceeded to fall asleep instead of helping with the clean up.   
  
Ken was about to yell at the lanky blonde for his laziness when the before mentioned ice princess came in and locked eyes with him, successfully halting any previous thoughts of retaliation on Ken's part.  
  
"You have a visitor, and make it quick, the school just let out for the day and we need to keep our eyes out for Taketori's kid." With that said Aya walked past Ken to the kitchen of the trailer to get a bottled water from the refrigerator.  
  
Walking outside the first thing Ken noticed was that the place was swarming with school girls whom had previously been absent a few minutes ago, when he had been ordered by Aya to clean the arrangement table. Aya was right, school had let out and now they were over run, how was he supposed to find anyone in this mess. Ken was about to turn around and flee for the safety of the trailer, when a suspiciously familiar voice spoke from behind him.  
  
Turning around Ken came face to face with the brunette girl that he recognized as a friend who had been with Mamoru earlier in the day, when he had stopped at the shop to buy flowers for his mother. She smiled up at him and the first words out of her mouth were not for him but for the throngs of girls currently suffocating him.   
  
"BACK, BACK YOU HARPIES, THIS ONE'S MINE, GET YOUR OWN FLORIST!!!!   
  
June practically plowed through the girls around Ken as she led him quite physically by his arm over to a display of roses where they could talk. At the same time Aya had decided to grace the throngs of love sick teens with his presence, and quite quickly became a new target for their interest, much to Ken's relief.   
  
Looking down at the brunette who was still physically attached to his arm he decided to ask her were Mamoru was. "Actually he's the reason I'm here, he had to go straight home and I came to get the flowers he bought. I can give them to him tomorrow when I see him before school."  
  
Ken felt himself panic momentarily, Mamoru wasn't coming, how was he and the others supposed to find out where the boy lived if he sent his friend to pick up the flowers for him. Suddenly as if lightning struck Ken had an idea.  
  
"Say um uh...Oh yah, June..." at this she giggled at Ken's incapability to remember her name; "since you were not going to see your friend until tomorrow anyway, why don't you let me deliver the flowers for you instead. I mean it's part of our service as florists after all."  
  
June looked skeptical for a moment before she asked, "it won't cost extra will it, because I don't want to cause an additional expense for Mamo-chan when I can just take the flowers with me now."  
  
Ken smirked at his own cleverness, normally it would cost extra for a delivery but since they needed to know where the kid and his mother lived, he doubted that Aya would care about the added expense as long as he was able to get the information.   
  
After assuring June that it was a free delivery she relented and wrote down Mamoru's address on a piece of notebook paper and handed it to him. She seemed kind of reluctant to give out the information which made Ken curious. She also made him promise that he would be the one to deliver the flowers and no one else. June knew that Ken and Mamoru had hit it off earlier in the day, and that her friend would be less upset with her for giving out his address if it was Ken who showed up at his doorstep.  
  
With that taken care of, June's one track guy-radar spotted Yohji coming out of the trailer and had locked on. Smiling and winking at Ken she made a b-line for the now terrified blond before he could turn around and reclaim the safety of the trailer.  
  
~*~  
  
Ken smiled as he loaded the freesia flowers onto his motorcycle with the address in hand, he headed out into the busy late day traffic of the city of Kyoto. He had been correct about Aya's reaction to the idea of delivering the flowers to Mamoru. Now he had to live up to his promise to June and more importantly to the mission, he had to identify the location of Taketori Mamoru.   
  
~*~  
  
The train ride across the city had gone by in a blur as Mamoru's mind swam with thoughts about how he was going to tell his mother about what he had found on the disk, and that his father was in the city, along with the possibility of him finding them, and the possibility that they might have to move again. Originally Mamoru had planned on stopping by the flower shop with June after class. Not only to pick up the flowers he had bought but just to see Ken again. Mamoru wasn't used to befriending someone so quickly, except for June which was an exception, he didn't have to many close friends, he had learned long ago not to get to close to people, in case he had to move on, it just hurt to much to leave friends behind every time he and his mother had to run.   
  
Mamoru didn't want to leave the city or his friend June, he was happy here and had a good life, the thought of starting over again was not only terrifying but deeply depressing. His increasingly dismal train of thought came to a stop as he reached the diner his mother worked at. He had decided to travel half way across the city to see his mother in person, the news he had wasn't something he wanted to tell her over the phone, and waiting until she got off of work was not an option either; "well here goes everything..." sighing at his fate Mamoru pushed open the double glass doors and entered the restaurant.  
  
Entering the dinner Mamoru was met by the clattering of cheep dishes and the chatter of patrons unwinding from a hectic day over hot coffee and good food. The waitresses who worked with his mother immediately recognized the "cutie" when they saw him and Mamoru had to work his way through the usual hurricane of pinched cheeks and hands ruffling his blond locks; exclamations of "hey cutie" and "how are you doing sugar" met his ears as he smiled his best for his mother's friends and coworkers. Making his way to the counter to speak to the owner and his mother's best friend Mamoe, who was a kind older woman who had run the restaurant with her husband before his death and who now ran it with the help of her friends and employees.   
  
"Hi honey how are you, its been a while young man." Mamoe smiled at the sweet boy who she saw as her own grandson since her husband and herself had never had children of their own, so she had instantly taken in the small boy and his mother when they had moved to the area.   
  
Smiling brilliantly for the plump older woman, Mamoru took a seat on a stool by the counter. Mamoe was the closest thing to a grandparent that he had ever had, and he always felt comfortable in her presence. He could tell she loved not only him but cared deeply for his mother as if she was her own daughter, this had made it easy to trust and accept such a tight family like relationship from a woman who had been all but a stranger to him over 2 years ago.   
  
The restaurant that Mamoe owned was a 1950's Americana dinner that had quickly become a trendy place that both the old and young tended to frequent on a regular basis. She had opened the restaurant years ago when she and her husband had retired from their careers for a more quiet existence, but after her husband's death she had contemplated selling the restaurant until Kikuno had come along and had helped the kind old woman run the establishment on her own. With the presence of the young woman and her child the older woman had been given a new purpose and someone to care for. This seemed the best medicine for her aching heart, and since then the restaurant and the small threesome family had flourished.   
  
"Hi Momoe is my mom here anywhere I need to talk to her?  
  
The older woman smiled as she turned to get the boy some cherry pie and a cup of coffee, placing the food in front of Mamoru she said, "yes she's here and on break, I can go get her for you, but while I do that you eat this, honestly Mamoru your too thin, we need to get some more meat on those bones of yours." Blushing at the older woman's friendly banter Mamoru took the offered coffee and busied himself with adding sugar to it.   
  
Mamoru's wandering thoughts were halted by the emergence of his mother from the kitchen door. The exited glow that seemed to radiate off her and the brilliance of her smile immediately had him wondering what had happened to put his mother in such a good mood.   
  
"Oh Mamoru sweet heart I'm so happy your here, I was going to call you when you got home, but this is much better." Beaming she hugged her son close and Mamoru could practically feel her trembling with excitement.   
  
"Oh honey it's so wonderful , you know that raise I was hoping to get?" At Mamoru's hesitant nod she practically squealed as she continued, "I got it! Not only did I get a substantial pay raise but I am going to be the new manager that Mamoe needs to replace the one she had who left. Oh we can do so much with the extra money, save for your college education, possibly get a larger apartment..." While Kikuno continued to ramble on about their good fortune Mamoru's head was spinning.   
  
"Oh gods how am I going to tell her about father, she'll be heart broken if we have to leave the city, and Momoe, mother would hate to walk out on such a kind lady."  
  
"Mamoru honey are you OK, your as white as a sheet..." Kikuno's exited features turned to a worried frown as she become aware of her son's reaction, or lack of one to her news. Shaking his shoulders caused the glazed and almost lost look in Mamoru's eyes to suddenly snap back to clarity as he fixed his gaze on his mother and gave her a reassuring smile.   
  
"That's great mom, you work so hard and deserve this, it's wonderful." In his mind Mamoru had come to a clear and definite decision, 'I am not telling her about dad, not now that she is so happy, I can't ruin this for her. Maybe there is a way I can protect us both from him; I mean it's not like he knows where we are exactly, maybe I can lead him away from Kyoto or something. It's not fair for her or me to have to keep leaving and starting over, this has to end once and for all, one way or another.'  
  
With that thought Mamoru came back to himself just in time to hear his mother say she wanted to celebrate by going out to dinner after her shift ended. Mamoru nodded his consent telling her that he had only stopped by for a snack. 'Ugh, what a lame excuse, I came half way across the city just for pie and coffee!' Finishing the coffee he waved to Kikuno as she returned to work and turned to the pie lying on the counter in front of him and starting devouring it while his thoughts buzzed with a new purpose, a new mission if you could call it that, to keep his father from finding them.  
  
~*~  
  
Looking at the address in his hand for the zillionth time since he had set out Ken's gaze lifted from the notebook paper to the apartment across the street from where he was parked. He had ended up needing directions from a gas station attendant when he had found himself lost in the busy traffic of Kyoto, and he had come to a realization that his own unfamiliarity with the streets of this city was defiantly a problem. Finally he had found the place, he just hoped that he would be able to find it again if the need arose.   
  
Sighing at his own lack of direction Ken turned off the engine to his motorcycle and removed the helmet. Turning to the potted freesias he had brought Ken checked to make sure Mamoru's flowers had survived the journey relatively intact.  
  
Ken looked at the numbers on the apartment door in front of him, 'yup this is the place, the name on the mailbox isn't Taketori but I seriously doubt that his wife would be fool enough to use that name if she's trying to avoid him.' After knocking on the door for almost 5 minutes he came to the monumental conclusion that nobody was home.   
  
Thankful for his skills as an assassin, Ken didn't have any trouble picking the lock to the door. Normally if this was typical delivery he would just leave the flowers or come back later, but this delivery was anything but typical. Ken knew he had to make sure he had the right location or Aya would have his head.   
  
The click of the lock told Ken that he was successful and he quickly slipped inside before anyone could catch him in the act. His initial perusal of the apartment didn't really distinguish it from any other family home, and Ken was beginning to wonder if he had the wrong place. That was until he came to several photographs on the hallway wall, one was a baby picture that immediately caught his attention. The child may have been small, only 2 or 3 years old but the face and those amazing eyes, Ken recognized them right off as belonging to an adorable baby Mamoru.   
  
Smiling at the picture and the knowledge that his search was successful Ken turned to another picture farther down and noticed it was more recent, possibly only a few years old. In it a smiling Mamoru was being hugged by a woman that Ken could only describe as stunning, immediately he understood where the boy had acquired his good looks from. The woman had to be Kikuno, Reiji Taketori's wife.   
  
Looking down at the freesias that were still in his hands Ken contemplated just leaving the flowers and going, but simple nagging curiosity prevented that wise decision. That same nagging curiosity led Ken to the end of the hallway and to two bedrooms. One was obviously Kikuno's and he ignored it, the other one with the door open allowed Ken to get a glimpse of the domain belonging to the one person who held Ken's immediate interest.   
  
After setting the freesia plant down on a desk next to the computer Ken took in the lay out of the room, until his eyes caught sight of another famed photograph on a table by the bed. In it he saw the smiling face of the girl he had already met twice, June. In her arms she hugged an equally smiling Mamoru. The photo made Ken feel an emotion that caught him by surprise, 'am I jealous?' Shaking his head as if to dispel such a ridicules thought Ken decided that is was indeed time to leave, when he heard a sound that chilled him to the bone, the sound of the front door closing and the shuffling noises of another person.   
  
Moving quickly Ken dove for the window and opened it, ready to leap out onto the street below and make his getaway, until he remembered that he was five stories up, 'scratch that idea.' Hearing footsteps in the hallway headed his way, Ken did the only thing he could, he hid in the closet, as cliché as that was.   
  
~*~  
  
The entire train ride back across Kyoto went by in a dizzying blur as Mamoru tried to organize his thoughts and decide what to tell June. He wasn't even sure if he should get her involved with his problems, but she already knew about his father and the disk, and she would not accept no as an answer if he asked her not to get involved.   
  
After the train came to a screeching halt Mamoru took off down the street running the last two blocks home, his mind already made up to e-mail June and tell her what his mother had hold him along with getting her advise on the situation. This was the best he could do right now until he read through the decoded information on the disk and came up with a real plan.   
  
As he walked up to the apartment complex where he and his mother had lived for the past two years Mamoru chanced to look across the street and cought view of a magnificent looking motorcycle parked nearby. Stopping to admire such a wonderful looking bike, he momentarily forgot about his immediate problems as he let his thoughts drift to the hope that one day he could ride or maybe even own such a nice motorcycle.   
  
The apartment was quite as usual when Mamoru entered and placed the day's mail on a side table. He went immediately to the refrigerator for something to drink, and removed a bottle of water to quench the thirst his little run had created. After leaving his school bag on the kitchen table he headed down the hall to his room, deciding to e-mail June right away before he started pouring over all the data on the disk.   
  
Only after he had entered his room and turn on his computer did a gentle breeze that ruffled his hair as he passed the window cause him to pause in his actions and regard the open window. 'Why it that open, I always close it before I leave and mom would never leave it open, she's to afraid of someone sneaking in...' his eyes widened at that thought as he noticed the potted freesia flowers sitting innocently on his desk as if they had always belonged there.   
  
'Oh my god how did that get here, I asked June to pick those flowers up but she was going to bring them with her tomorrow and she doesn't have a key!' Slowly backing away from the plant and his desk Mamoru had decided he didn't want to be here by himself anymore, as thoughts of burglars or possibly even his father began to cloud his mind.   
  
Allowing the bottle of water to slip through his finders onto the floor where it emptied its contents onto the rug Mamoru was so lost in his anxious thoughts that more than just surprise registered when a strong muscular arm enclosed his waist and a hand covered his mouth successfully blocking the shocked yell that sprang fourth.   
  
Initial surprise changed quickly into blind fear and panic as Mamoru's mind screamed with the thoughts of 'no I was too late, father's already found us, I should have told mom, oh gods she doesn't know I have to warn her!' Fear and panic then transformed into determination brought by his need to warn Kikuno and the strength to fight back that had initially fled his body returned with new vigor as Mamoru fought against his attacker with every ounce of force he had.   
  
His twisting and turning and flailing limbs suddenly went limp when a startlingly familiar voice spoke in a hushed tone into Mamoru's ear, pleading with him to calm down and stop his struggle.  
  
~*~  
  
Ken sighed in relief as the struggling boy in his arms suddenly stilled and turned his head toward him, wide eyes peering up at him through ruffled blond bangs. Ken had to keep himself from laughing out loud at the adorably shocked look on Mamoru's face. Quickly remembering that he was still holding the boy Ken let him go and watched for the reaction which he knew he would be getting.  
  
"K-ken what are you doing here?" Mamoru couldn't think straight, his mind was swirling as the previous terror he had felt dissipated as an embarrassing blush tinted his cheeks as his skin tingled from where the florist had previously held him. Rational thoughts such as how in the hell did Ken get into his room let alone the apartment, and how did Ken even know where he lived, tried to intrude on his more pleasant thoughts but ultimately they would not be squashed.   
  
"Um hi Ken-kun I'm glad to see you again and all that but how did you get in here?"  
  
Noticing the boy's blush and his surprise Ken decided that a half truth would be the best option in this situation. "Your friend June stopped by the flower shop after school and asked for these flowers..." with this explanation he pointed at the freesias that still sat on the desk where he had foolishly left them. Ken really hoped that Mamoru would buy the lame flower delivery excuse that he was giving him, because he couldn't tell him why he really was there, but at the same time for some reason Ken didn't want the boy angry with him for breaking in.  
  
Ken mentally kicking himself for being so stupid, he knew he should have left after seeing those pictures in the hallway. "I told your friend I would deliver the flowers for her so she gave me your address and I came here but nobody was home." Ken grinned hoping Mamoru would believe him.  
  
One pale bond eyebrow rose in question as Mamoru took in what he had been told. He didn't like the fact that June had given out his address but at the same time he was thrilled that Ken had gone out of his way to deliver the flowers, this helped to soften the tide of emotions raging within him.  
  
"That was awful nice of you Ken-kun but how did you get in, the door was locked and even though my window is open its five stories up?"  
  
Grimacing at the question and looking over at the still open window, Ken's brain suddenly decided to take a vacation. "Oh yah that well you see, well um, uh yah sorry about that, I erm uh..." Ken scratched the back of his head grinning as he tried to come up with an explanation for breaking into the apartment other then his mission for Weiss.  
  
Smiling at the florist's obvious nervousness and embarrassment, Mamoru let the rational part of his mind which was suspicious about the alleged break-in be momentarily squashed by his relief that it was indeed Ken in front of him and not his father. Bending down to retrieve the now nearly empty water bottle and avoiding the wet carpet he sighed and grabbed the distracted florist by his wrist, leading them both out of his bedroom and into the kitchen.   
  
Ken himself was surprised by Mamoru's calm behavior considering the situation and aloud the teen to lead him out of the room to the kitchen, where he was told to take a seat at the table.   
  
"OK," Mamoru sighed as he plopped down in a seat opposite of the brunette. "I'm willing to pretend that I didn't find you hiding in my room, and I won't call the police and report the break in."  
  
At this exclamation Ken was again floored by the maturity the boy was showing, but that strange calm and composed appearance was contradicted when Ken locked eyes with the no longer warm and friendly cerulean gaze, but eyes that were now ice cold and hard as stone.   
  
"...but that is only if you tell me the real reason you are here Ken, and don't you dare tell me that it has anything to do with delivering flowers."  
  
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TBC  
  
Yay I'm done. I had awful writer's block with this fic for a while now, that and my busy schedule is what kept me from updating this. But now I am back again and will continue with this. I am currently working on my next chapter for Second Calling so that is coming up next, be patient. When I am done with that I will work on the next chapter for this story.   
  
I plan on some Swartz action in the next chapter, and will Ken spill the beans to Mamoru about why he was really there? You'll just have to keep your eyes out for my next chapter and I hope you enjoyed, please review it makes me smile. ^_^ 


	8. Explanations Abound

Everyone, sorry it took so long to post another chapter. Now I'm back and have a new extra long chapter for you guys, I hope you enjoy it and let me know what you think, because my muse lives on feedback, please feed my muse, its so hungry.

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**(Author's Note):** In this chapter we have some Swartz action, so all you Swartz fans enjoy. Also we find out what is going on with Ken and Mamoru.   
  
**Disclaimer:** I do not now nor have I ever owned Weiss Kreuz, just borrowing the characters for some fun.

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**Chapter 8: Explanations Abound  
  
**The sound of water droplets splashing on expensive marble floors followed the youngest member of Swartz as he entered the ritzy penthouse, of the twenty story apartment building that he and his teammates were so graciously being put-up in; while their illustrious employer Reiji Taketori, was in town to take care of some "family business".   
  
Grimacing in annoyance at the fact that even though the rain had stopped earlier, on his walk back from his "accidental" run in with Taketori's wife, he had been lost in his own thoughts about his talk with her. Unfortunately for Nagi this momentary lapse in concentration had coincided with a passing truck driving into a particularly large puddle of water. Thanks to his own wandering thoughts the young telekinetic had not realized his close proximity to the airborne spray of water until he felt himself drenched from head to toe in filthy and faintly gasoline scented street water.   
  
Dark thoughts of how he could crush that evil truck into a pile of twisted metal where dominant his mind, as Nagi proceeded to peal his now thoroughly inundated jacket from his shoulders with a disgusted snarl.   
  
On the way to his bedroom Nagi found himself suddenly face to face with a one eyed, knife wielding maniac.   
  
"Not now Farf I'm drenched and smell like a mud puddle, why don't you go bother Schu or something." the boy's annoyed rant was ignored by his companion.  
  
Grinning with some secret glee Farfello proceeded to lick the kitchen knife he had commandeered from a drawer and continued past the soggy boy, down the hall to find a new and better way to "hurt god".   
  
Previously he had planned on squiring some pigeons on the balcony but Crawford had foreseen it, and ruined his fun by confiscating his beloved knives. Luckily for the Irishman the precog had to leave on business with Taketori, so in his haste had neglected to lock up the kitchen knives, which Farfello had so conveniently borrowed.   
  
Rolling his eyes at his insane teammate's antics, the soggy telekinetic proceeded to the bathroom to shower and change.  
  
The manic laughter and irritating grinding of kitchen utensils in a blender and the sight of the resulting sparks which seemed to infinitely entertain Farfello, met Nagi as he entered the spacious kitchen a half hour later. Taking a seat at the table, head resting in his hands Nagi sighed in annoyance as a familiar tickle in the back of his mind alerted him to the unwelcome intrusion of a certain redheaded German telepath.   
  
"Damn it Schu, get out of my head!"  
  
Nagi muttered choice curses while Farf giggled with glee as the utensils grinding away in the blender caused the appliance to short out in a brilliant display of sparks and smoke.   
  
"Breaking blenders hurts god!!!" Farf cackled to himself while Nagi opened a window with his powers to prevent the smoke detector from going off, again!   
  
Snickering at the scene, Schuldig entered the kitchen and risked bodily harm by ruffling Nagi's dark chocolate locks. The resulting growl told the telepath without the aid of his abilities that he had better remove his hand, so he took a seat next to his young teammate.   
  
"So Nagikins what delightful adventure did you embark on today?" as if the telepath didn't already know.   
  
Snorting at the German's attempt at small talk, Nagi related to his teammates the mission that Crawford had assigned to him, "find Kikuno Taketori at such and such a place, at a particular time" as the precog had foreseen; "then be a good little boy and help her carry her groceries home, there by learning the location of her residence".  
  
"Unfortunately the kid was at school," Nagi sighed as he watched his teammate's eyes gleam with mirth at his annoyance. "So I couldn't confirm the location of Taketori's brat, plus Kikuno was reluctant to talk to me."  
  
Smiling at the disgruntled youngster Schuldig patted Nagi on the back and got up to retrieve something to munch on from the refrigerator.   
  
"I wouldn't stress over it Naggles," smiling wider as the boy groaned at one of the many accursed nick-names that Schu insisted on tormenting him with. "I got a good look at her mind while you were being the good Samaritan and found out where dear little Mamoru attends school; I also found out a particularly useful tid-bit of information by surprise. HAH! I bet even Bradley didn't see this one coming."  
  
Perking up instantly at the German's boast, Nagi found himself curious at what possible event that Schu might have discovered, that Crawford might have not foreseen.   
  
"Well, what is it?"  
  
Smirking in delight Schu explained, "apparently from what I learned from Kikuno's thoughts, her dear little Mamoru is a bit of a computer nut; kind of like you Nagikins."  
  
Nagi frowned at the telepath's remark.  
  
"Anyway, apparently little Mamoru went on a bit of a hacking adventure with a friend and got a hold of some information not meant for his eyes."  
  
"OK?!? So what does that have to do with anything," Nagi was starting to become annoyed.  
  
"Well chibi, the information that the brat got a hold of warned him that his dear old dad is looking for him and his mother."   
  
"What? That's impossible," Nagi was floored, how could anyone have hacked Taketori's files. As an experienced hacker himself, Nagi had been the one to design and implement the protection programs that his employer used to protect his computer networks, it was not possible that some kid was able to get passed his precautions!  
  
Nagi was brought out of his thoughts by not only the German's next words but by the smug expression that followed them; "well I guess your not as invincible when it comes to your computers as you thought huh Nagikins?"  
  
"Oh shut up Schu!"   
  
Nagi bristled visibly at the insinuation that some snot nosed brat of that idiot Taketori could have hacked his programs, there was just not way. His incensed thoughts were interrupted by more manic laughter from Farfello who was now currently doing inventory of the kitchen cutlery running his fingers over and slicing his arms with each new blade he found.   
  
"Hacking Nagi's programs hurts god!"  
  
Sighing in defeat at the demented laughter of his teammates, Nagi stood up leaving the kitchen and his crazy "friends" behind. Nagi always considered his time precious, and he wasn't going to waste anymore on those idiots. Besides, he needed to check the security on Taketori's mainframe to see if Schu was right about the intrusion by another hacker.   
  
'Seeing is believing,' he thought to himself, and Nagi knew he wouldn't be able to believe what the German had told him until he saw the evidence of the intrusion into Taketori's files. 'Before I do that though, I think some online relaxation is in order,' Nagi gave a small smile at that thought, he needed to unwind after the day he had, and he had the perfect way to do that.   
  
'I wonder if **BombayKat** is online right now?' Nagi wondered. It had been a few weeks since the telekinetic had last spoken to his friend; one that even his teammates knew nothing about. Nagi had known his online friend for almost two years, corresponding first in chat rooms, then later in e-mails and Instant Messages (IM).   
  
Sighing as he took a seat at his beloved computer and logging on, Nagi thought more about his secret friend. 'If Crawford ever found out about him he would make me give up my correspondence for fear of it interfering with my job' at this Nagi scowled. 'It's as if I'm not aloud to have any friends!'  
  
It had been hard for him to keep this secret from not only the precog but from his telepathic teammate as well, part of it was that he and **BombayKat** had never met in all the time they had known each other, this helped keep some distance, and keep Nagi's secret safe.   
  
Smiling slightly yet again, Nagi noticed that indeed his friend was online as he wrote an invitation for an IM chat between them and sent it, a resulting "bling" sound filling the room.   
  
'It's so strange how someone can mean so much to me as a friend and to this day I've never even seen his face.'   
  
With that thought Nagi found his slight smile unconsciously widening as a responding bling and a message from **BombayKat** answered his invitation to chat.

* * *

"Well explain?"  
  
Ken smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head as he frantically tried to come up with a realistic and feasible excuse to explain breaking into Mamoru's apartment.  
  
'Damn-it! I can't tell him about Weiss and why I was really here, or Aya will have my head; plus Kritiker would have to eliminate Mamoru if he knew!'  
  
Ken's thoughts were a jumble until suddenly as if the clouds had parted and the sun decided to shine through in all its infinite brilliance, Ken had an idea! Not just any idea, a splendid idea, worthy of Einstein himself.   
  
Inwardly the assassin was doing back-flips at his own cleverness and failed to notice that Mamoru's displeased expression had been replaced by one of utter confusion and a bit of fear. This expression was brought on by the manic gleam now present in the florist's eyes, a disturbing sight indeed.   
  
"Um, uh... Ken-kun are you OK?"  
  
'All right it's official this florist, this cute florist; is now seriously freaking me out!' Mamoru thought as he watched the strange gleam and a few manic chuckles escape from his new friend.   
  
Momentarily Mamoru started at his own thoughts, 'CUTE, did I just call him cute, ugh bad thoughts, bad, I don't need this right now!'  
  
Deciding to snap Ken out of whatever strange little world he was off mentally gallivanting in, Mamoru tapped him on the arm. The effect he wanted was instantaneous as Ken snapped back to reality with a substantial blush to prove his embarrassment for spacing out.   
  
"Oh sorry about that, I kind of drifted off there for a second." Ken felt his face heat up at the skeptical look that the boy gave him; 'man that was embarrassing, he probably thinks that I'm not only some creepy stalker, but a crazy person too!'  
  
Sighing at the situation Mamoru started again, "so are you going to tell me why you're here?" Mamoru knew he liked Ken, but at this moment the guy was seriously starting to annoy him.   
  
Ken smiled at the frustrated expression that the boy gave him, 'well here goes nothing.'  
  
"The guys and I need some extra help around the flower shop, so I figured you might like to work with us while we're in town, you know for some extra money, like an after school job?"  
  
Ken trailed off at the peculiar look that Mamoru was now giving him. "So what you say?"  
  
Mamoru wasn't sure exactly what he had expected the florist to tell him, some kind of lame excuse probably, but what he had just heard was definitely not what he had expected. His jaw hung open in visible shock and it took the boy a moment to formulate an answer to what he was told.   
  
"You want ME to work with you and your friends?"  
  
Plastering on a smile to cover up his confusion and surprise he nodded to Ken, "Yah I would love to work with you and your friends except...," here Mamoru found himself frowning a bit, "I don't know anything about flowers, wouldn't you need someone who has more experience?"  
  
Ken found himself grinning at the poor boy's utterly lost expression, 'does he even know how adorable he looks when he pouts like that. Damn! Bad thoughts, BAKA, no ogling your mission objective!'  
  
Ken's smile grew while his hand as if by its own desire moved to ruffle the golden locks of the pouting boy in front of him, the resulting blush that painted Mamoru's soft features gave the adorable boy an even more darling appearance.  
  
Trying to fight off the dreadful blush that Mamoru feared was spreading like wildfire across his cheeks, he decided that working with the florist for as long as he and his friends were in Kyoto might be fun, besides he and his mother could use the extra income. This pleasant thought was pushed aside when another took its place, 'I still don't understand why Ken-kun needed to break in the apartment to tell me this?'  
  
Smiling at Ken and nodding his consent to his proposition, Mamoru decided to voice his confusion.   
  
"It's nice of you to ask me to work with you and your friends, but it still doesn't explain why you were in my room or in our apartment in the first place?"  
  
All the feelings of accomplishment that Ken had been savoring up until now seemed to slip through his fingers like so much dry sand, as these words registered in his mind. The curious look on the boy's face and his own unfortunate realization that his 'genius' plan hadn't worked as well as he had hoped led the assassin down the path of impending panic.   
  
This was when Ken found himself pulling off one of his classic bone-headed moves andbefore he could stop himself the words just spilled out of their own accord, "I am here checking out leads."  
  
Mamoru's expectant look altered to one of confusion, "what do you mean?" Then his eyes lit up with what looked like hope, "are you some kind of police officer, or a detective Ken-kun?"  
  
Ken felt himself nodding an affirmative and before he knew it, thoughts of how Aya was going to kill him for telling Mamoru what he did flooded his head. The assassin was dangerously close to a mental breakdown when the voice of the boy in front of him invaded and all other thoughts, which ground to a halt in pure shock as what was just spoken finally registered.  
  
Smiling at the absent minded florist, Mamoru decided to voice his most urgent questions; "then you must know about my father, why else would you be here?"  
  
Ken did a double take when he heard this, 'the kid knows about Taketori! Oh Crap, Aya is going to really be unhappy and that's putting it mildly.' Outwardly Ken grimaced at the impending doom that would await him when the leader of their group found out what he now knew.   
  
Ken come back to the conversation from his inner thoughts yet again and just in time to hear Mamoru's continuing monologue which would became at least for Ken a saving grace.   
  
"...and while we were there I downloaded some files from her father's computer network and Reiji Taketori's name along with some other stuff about him and his business associates was downloaded too."  
  
Mamoru was no less then thrilled. If this 'florist' as Ken had previously claimed to be, was really some kind of undercover cop or detective looking for information on Taketori, then maybe he could help him and his mother, then they wouldn't have to relocate again.  
  
It had taken Ken a few moments to digest exactly what Mamoru had just told him, 'a disk with information on Taketori?' this was too good to be true. Weiss had already been told when their mission first started that Kritiker's hackers had very little information on Taketori's latest movements in Kyoto. They only knew that he had learned the general whereabouts of his wife and youngest son and had set out to find them.   
  
Kritiker also suspected that Taketori had other ulterior motives for his trip to this city, but no definite proof of this had been found as of yet.   
  
Turning to the blond 'angel of mercy' in front of him Ken decided his earlier goof-up might actually work to his advantage, especially since it seemed that Mamoru already knew about his father's presence in Kyoto.  
  
"About this disk, do you still have it?"  
  
Starting to head towards his room Mamoru nodded, "of course I do, and I can give it to you if you want it, but I want a favor in return." With this said the boy's eyes again lost their shine and became hard and serious. The sudden change in demeanor similar to before made shivers cascade down Ken's spine.   
  
"Okay, what it is you want?"  
  
Smiling a bit to soften his expression Mamoru told the 'florist' exactly what he wanted. "I want your promise that you will help me and my mother, and keep that maniac away from us, I don't want him to find my mother or me. Also this is between us, I don't want my mother involved, she has protected me from my father all my life, now it's my turn to protect us for a change."  
  
Ken couldn't help but stifle a chuckle at how 'cute' Mamoru looked when he was being serious, it gave the boy a distinctive look of a disgruntled kitten.   
  
Raising an eyebrow at Ken's pathetic attempt to hide his humor, Mamoru was about to ask about why his proposition was funny when Ken saved him the effort by replying.   
  
"Sure Mamo-chan I would be happy to help you and your mother, and yes I would be appreciative of any information you could give me on your father."  
  
Mamoru bristled visibly at the nickname that Ken used, 'UGH he must have picked it up from June!'  
  
"OK, give me a minute and I'll go get the disk." Mamoru turned to walk to his room, "just wait here."  
  
Seated at his desk Mamoru made sure to copy the information from the disk onto a spare so that he could retain the original.  
  
'I might have just found an ally and a friend in Ken-kun, but he's still a virtual stranger to me, I mean we only met this morning.'   
  
Mamoru's old ingrained fear of strangers was not so easily forgotten even as he felt that he could trust Ken. Old suspicions of those that he did not know that were ingrained into him by his mother's teachings, made Mamoru naturally wary of those he did not know well, and compelled his caution.  
  
Turning to leave taking the copy with him, Mamoru was startled by a bling of his Instant Messager (IM); turning back to the now open chat window he smiled fondly at what was found there.   
  
Seeing the familiar screen name and the text asking if he was free to talk, Mamoru was pleased to see that his old friend **DarkProdigy** was online. Smiling wider when remembering it had been a while since the two had spoken to each other, almost two weeks to be exact.   
  
Their friendship spanned the past two years of speaking to one another for hours at a time in chat rooms, and later moving on to more personal forms of talk such as e-mail and IM. Lately **Dark Prodigy** had been away on 'business' or so he had put it, last time they had spoken. Mamoru had missed their talks a great deal.   
  
Pausing a moment to type a message telling **DarkProdigy** that he would be right back to chat, Mamoru grabbed the copied disk deciding that now was as good a time as any to ask Ken to leave. As much as he liked his new friend, Mamoru was now much more interested in speaking to an older and more trusted friend. Also he still needed to e-mail June and fill her in on recent events.   
  
Ken accepted the disk and a piece of paper with numbers scrawled on it, "thanks, me and the guys should be parked near your school for a while yet."  
  
Ken mentally kicked himself for saying that, "gods I sound like a stalker or something.' Smiling   
sheepishly to cover his embarrassment Ken noticed that Mamoru was blushing as well with embarrassment of his own, as he lead Ken to the front door.   
  
With good-byes said, Ken left the apartment and headed across the street to his bike. Suddenly a huge grin made itself present on his face, as he looked down at the cell phone number on the piece of paper and the disk in his hand. "Well that didn't go to badly now did it."  
  
Revving up the engine Ken put the trinkets he had obtained on his unusual break-in/run-in with Mamoru Taketori into a pocket in his jacket. Placing on his helmet he hit the gas and sped down the street to join the rest of the commuters in the rush hour traffic of Kyoto.

* * *

Sighing in satisfaction after finishing a rather lengthily e-mail to June, Mamoru pressed the button on his mouse to send the digital message on its way. The bling of the IM window in the corner of the screen caught his attention. Mamoru had been writing to June for the better part of an hour since Ken's departure, while chatting with his online friend off and on.   
  
**DarkProdigy:** _"So you won this bet you and your friend had huh? What are you going to   
  
make her wear when she cleans your room?"   
_  
Smiling at the thought Mamoru replied:  
  
**BombayKat:** _"I don't know.. snickers evilly maybe one of those slutty outfits of her   
  
sister's that I KNOW she would have made me wear if she had won."  
_  
A bling instantly replied to Mamoru's scrip and he chuckled at his friend's reply.  
  
**DarkProdigy:** _"Hah! That's to much kitty-kat , take some pictures and send me a copy!"  
  
_Mamoru giggled at the nick name that DarkProdigy had saddled him with, for some funny reason it didn't bother him as much as being called Mamo-chan did. The idea of sending pictures of June to his friend **DarkProdigy** made Mamoru let out an amused snort. 'June would kill me if I ever did that.'   
  
**BombayKat:** _"Nice try but that will never happen, she would have my head if she ever   
found out, so try and reign in those raging hormones of yours. Anyway she's like a sister,   
so YUCK!"   
_  
**DarkProdigy:**_ ...   
_  
Mamoru laughed again at his friend's reply, it was always so much fun talking to him. They had always been this way, ever since they had met two years ago online in a chat room for computer enthusiasts. The pair had bonded quickly over their mutual interests and eventually discarded the crowded chatroom, and the other chatters who usually interrupted the conversions they had and began to converse in private on IM and in e-mails.   
  
Despite the fact that Mamoru had known **DarkProdigy** for some time the two knew very little personal information about each other. It was a rule that both had agreed to early on in their online friendship.   
  
Mamoru's wariness of strangers and his Taketori background was his own reason, and he suspected that **DarkProdigy **had his own reasons for the agreed on arrangement.   
  
Arrangement aside it didn't really hinder their friendship, the boys learned that they had a lot in common where interests and opinion were concerned. All Mamoru really knew about **DarkProdigy** was that he was about the same age as he, and that they were both great hackers. While he lived in Kyoto his friend told him that he lived with 'friends' in Tokyo, where he attended school.  
  
**DarkProdigy:** _"Guess what Kitty-kat, I'm in town on business!"  
  
_Mamoru's jaw just about dropped to the floor and his fingers scrambled to type a fast enough reply.  
  
**BombayKat:** _"What! You mean here in Kyoto, that's great. Do you think that we could   
maybe meet?"  
_  
Mamoru crossed his fingers and prayed to any and all the gods that would answer him. He had wanted to meet **DarkProdigy **for a long time but geographical distance and his friend's busy schedule had prevented it so far.   
  
Mamoru was ecstatic when he saw the reply.  
  
**DarkProdigy:** _"When and where?"   
_

* * *

Ken sighed exhausted and thirsty, as he trudged up the steps into the trailer that served as a flower shop.   
  
Ignoring Aya's glare and Youji's annoyed looks he b-lined it to the refrigerator for a bottled water.   
  
"Man the traffic here in Kyoto is as bad as it is in Tokyo, maybe worse", he exclaimed around mouthfuls of water.   
  
Aya just rolled his eyes as Youji grinned at Ken's misfortune at being stuck in rush hour traffic.   
  
"Hah Ken-ken, serves you right for ditching us on clean-up duty. I mean how long does it take to deliver one order of flowers!"  
  
Scowling at Youji's remark, Ken flopped down in a nearby chair.   
  
"For your information I was checking out the residence of one of our targets."  
  
At the rise of Youji's eyebrows, Ken smirked in triumph. Aya however frowned when he saw Ken pull out a disk from his jacket pocket, along with a small sheet of paper with a phone number on it.   
  
Following Aya's gaze, Ken decided he better get it over with and explain the new situation to his   
colleagues.   
  
"Yah about that... well you see um, while I was checking out Kikuno Taketori's apartment her son came home and I kind of got caught," here Ken grimaced as Aya's frown deepened.  
  
"You what!?!" This exclamation came from Youji, while Aya's frown became an outright scowl.   
  
Ken decided to hurry on with his explanation about the disk, hoping that it would save him from Aya's animosity.  
  
"Don't worry guys, I told the kid we were undercover detectives; oh and he already knew about his father being here looking for them, so that wasn't my fault!"  
  
Seeing Aya's expression change none, but Youji's eyes were wide, "you told him we were detectives?"   
  
Laughter suddenly erupted from the lanky blond as Aya rolled his eyes at the blonde's inappropriate response.   
  
Smiling thankfully at the break in the tense atmosphere Ken decided to continue.   
  
"Not only does the kid know about his father, but apparently Mamoru is some sort of computer/hacker/genius; he and a friend of his were able to get a hold of some Intel on Taketori, and gave it to me!"  
  
Holding up the disk to prove his point, Ken grinned in satisfaction as Youji's jaw practically slammed into the floor and even Aya's eyes lit up in surprise.  
  
Snatching the disk from Ken's grasp, Aya eyed it for a moment before frowning again. "Okay Ken what's the catch, I hardly believe the kid gave you this and wanted nothing in return."  
  
Smiling sheepishly, Ken nodded in agreement; "well no he didn't give it to me for nothing, actually you see he kind of made me promise that we would protect him and his mother, and I also promised that he could work here with us in the flower shop."  
  
At the resounding silence that descended on the room, Ken tried his best to resist the urge to flee as Aya's eyes narrowed to slits, "you told him WHAT!"  
  
Ken's life was spared when Youji again interrupted, "calm down Aya, its part of our mission to protect the kid and his mother anyway, so why not let the chibi work here with us. That way we can keep an eye on him."  
  
Aya scowled but didn't protest this idea, instead he left the room with the disk in hand, most likely to see if Ken's Intel was worth the hassle.   
  
Ken smiled a thanks to Youji and then promptly began to tell the lanky blond about what had occurred between him and Mamoru.   
  
Youji's only reaction besides laughing his ass off, was to inquire about weather or not Kikuno was any good looking, since the assassin had a fondness for helping beautiful women in distress.   
  
All conversation ground to a halt as Aya walked back into the room and proceeded outside and then returned moments later with a surprise. Apparently Ken and Youji had been so into their talk that they hadn't noticed someone knocking on the trailer door. As Aya reemerged into the room yet again, the clacking of high heals followed him.   
  
The unexpected arrival of Manx considering she had traveled here from Tokyo to Kyoto just to see them, meant that something serious was going on. The frown on her face led Ken to believe that he was in for a long mission briefing, sighing dejectedly he followed the others into the living room where the meeting would take place.

* * *

While Weiss had to endure Manx's latest mission briefing, across town Mamoru was settling back down at his computer with a bowl of freshly made ramen in hand.   
  
The bling of his IM and **DarkProdigy's** latest reply filled the room as the fading light of the setting sun filtered through the window onto the potted freesia's still placed on his desk, right where Ken had left them.

* * *

**TBC  
**  
Well that's a good place to stop, I was even nice and didn't leave it on a cliff hanger. I am so sorry about making you guys wait so long for an update. I have been so busy lately and only recently have had time to type up my updates. Right now I am currently working on finishing up my latest update for **Second Calling** so anyone who is waiting for that be patient for a little bit longer.   
  
Once my other fic is updated I will work on this one again, so let me know what you think because you guys keep me going, and thanks again to those who have already reviewed for me, I appreciate it a lot.


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